


Preservation

by o0whitelily0o



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 20:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3148313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0whitelily0o/pseuds/o0whitelily0o
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hunger Games AU - With her Games over, Mari and Kresnik broach a different kind of survival tactic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Preservation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Art of Pruning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2704565) by [LittleLinor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLinor/pseuds/LittleLinor). 



> While there is nothing explicit on screen, there are references to past and potential sexual abuse/rape, so please proceed with caution.

It is five months after her Games, one month before her victory tour, when she asks about his tattoo. Kresnik has to catch the question of whether she remembered from his own interviews before it passes his lips. Sometimes it slips his mind just how young she is, when she carries death and responsibility on her shoulders like years. He wishes it wouldn’t. A girl her age shouldn’t have to bear that weight.

“In my last fight, my opponent gave me a pretty nasty scar here,” he says as he touches his forehead, now stained with red ink. He thinks of the boy from District 4, all chatter and wild laughter and taunting promises to save Kresnik for last. How all that laughter collapsed into terrified choked cries around Kresnik’s knife in his throat. He pulls his hand back down. “It was taken care of afterwards. Facial scars don’t appeal to the audiences.”

(Other scars were alright, at least for boys. They added a certain allure, made them seem stronger and more dangerous, deepened the illusion of intimacy when exposed and touched. But on his face, it would only detract from his looks, and he understood quickly that he couldn’t afford to lose any appeal he had.)

He starts, realizing he’s trailed off without finishing his answer. Mari doesn’t press him to continue, but she is still waiting, so he collects himself and continues. “It didn’t seem right, though, to pretend nothing had happened. So I asked for a tattoo instead, as a memento.”

She nodded. “May I ask why you chose that design?”

He laughs a little before lowering his head and linking his hands, the image of modesty. “What better way to express my own journey towards inner peace and forgiveness than an old holy symbol?,” he says, reciting words from an interview long past, before looking back up and shooting her a small smile.

There’s amusement in her gray eyes, and she smiles a little as she asks, “So it is a cross then?”

“What else would it be?”

She tilts her head, quiet for another couple of seconds before answering, “A sword.”

His smile widens a few notches - she’s sharp, remarkably so - but doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t need to, from the look on her face. She keeps her eyes on the two bright red intersecting lines for a little longer, before dropping them to his and saying, “I think I’d like one as well.”

“A tattoo?”

“Yes. A matching one.”

He pauses, narrows his eyes critically at her. Her expression is still pleasant, tone relaxed and conversational, but he’s sure she knows the idea is not one to voice lightly. “...That’s a pretty strong statement you’d be making,” he finally says, “People will talk.”

“That’s alright. It’d be better to give them something to talk about than allow them to look on their own.” She smiles, “Besides, that sort of talk could be useful. It’d certainly help explain, for example, why I’m at your house so often.”

He has to concede, they’re both good points. Her visits are not quite regular, but they’re frequent enough that it might seem unusual. He’s not sure how closely either of them are being watched, but considering what they’re planning it’s best to be as careful as possible. Just being a volunteer from 12 caught enough attention on it’s own, winning has done nothing to temper that scrutiny.

(If they are watching, he wonders what they make of her always coming to him, never the other way around. He wonders if they’ve figured out all the other people living in that house she won put together won’t make half the hostage even one of the two brothers would have.)

And that is another point too, which he has not known how to bring up to her yet; the gamemakers aren’t the only ones whose attention they have to worry about. Popularity is a double-edged sword. Being the ‘Beauty of District 12’ helped keep her alive, but that title will turn on her before long. It’s not hard at all to remember how young she is, when he thinks of the looks some of the sponsors had towards the end of her Games. If this could serve as any kind of protection for her, if even the idea of a relationship between them could distract or ward off anyone, it would be worth it. Just getting her through the Games isn’t enough to pay off the promise he made a year and a half ago. Especially not when he couldn’t protect Tadashi at all.

“Alright,” he nods, “If you’re sure, I’ll talk to your stylist. I’m sure she can arrange for something in time for your victory tour.”

Mari’s smile softens, and a tension in her shoulders relaxes. “I’m sure.”

He wonders, briefly, why she chose this way to make her statement. Posing as a couple is something they could have done regardless. Matching clothes, rings, a few ‘accidental’ slip of words; rumors don’t need much to get started, and need less to be fanned. But his eye catches on her ribbon, on the edges that are starting to fray in spite of the care she’s treated it with. He remembers the burnt and tattered scarf she carried out of the arena with her.

(He shouldn’t be surprised she wants something more permanent.)


End file.
